IN THIS ISSUE · SPRING 2026 — Read the cover story
When abuse is disclosed, everything feels fragile.
A child’s voice may shake. A caregiver may feel overwhelmed. In those moments, what happens next can shape everything that follows.
At the Upper Cumberland Child Advocacy Center, children are met with something many have never experienced before. A space designed entirely around safety, care, and being heard.
“We often see children and families on their worst days,” said Tracy Plant Bucholz. “To meet an anxious child at the front door, walk them through the process of their visit, and then see them reluctant to leave, or ask to stay longer, or even ask to come back, feels amazing. When children express feeling safe here, our team takes that to heart.”
The mission of the Upper Cumberland Child Advocacy Center is clear. To serve children who are victims of drug endangerment, physical abuse, and sexual abuse through prevention, education, and intervention.
But the work goes far beyond a mission statement.
“Most people are shocked to learn how many cases of child abuse occur in our community,” Bucholz said. “In 2025, our center processed over 1,000 cases with severe child abuse allegations.”
For many children, the trauma is compounded by familiarity.
“The majority of children who experience child abuse experience it at the hands of adults they know,” she explained.
That reality makes the Center’s approach even more critical.
Rather than sending families from office to office, the Center brings everything together under one roof.
The Upper Cumberland Child Advocacy Center serves seven counties within the 13th Judicial District, offering forensic interviews, advocacy, medical coordination, and counseling referrals in a single child-friendly environment.
“We offer a child-friendly, sensitive, caring environment where child protective services, prosecutors, law enforcement, medical staff, and counselors can coordinate to offer an all-in-one approach,” Bucholz said.
This multidisciplinary model ensures children do not have to relive their experiences repeatedly.
“Working these cases with an evidence-based approach can reduce the stress and impact on children,” she added. “We may not be able to control much about what happens with children’s complex situations, but we can assure they feel heard and safe when they are in our building.”
Since opening its doors in 2004, the Center has served more than 10,000 children across the Upper Cumberland. Behind that number is a network of professionals and partners who make the work possible.
“Not every community across Tennessee has a strong team infrastructure to work these cases,” Bucholz said. “Our partners live here. They care about these children. That matters.”
That same support extends to the organization itself.
“Some of the most rewarding jobs can also be the most taxing,” she shared. “Our board understands that. They support our work and they support us as individuals. That allows us to care well for the children and families we serve.”
The impact of the Upper Cumberland Child Advocacy Center is not always loud or visible.
It often begins in small, quiet moments.
A child who feels safe enough to speak.
A caregiver who feels believed for the first time.
A family that begins to take its next step forward.
“We often see children and families on their worst days,” Bucholz said. “But when children feel safe here, that’s where healing begins.”
And in a place built on compassion, coordination, and care, those moments of healing happen every day.”
To donate, visit https://ucchildadvocacy.org.
-by Chelsea Dartez, photos provided by Child Advocacy Center
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